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With a shake of my head, I say, “You don’t have to do that. I can handle it. Just wanted some extra rest before I do.”

He holds my jacket out for me to put on and says, “I know I don’t have to do it. I want to do it.” His hands gather up my long hair and pull it from the jacket. He leans in close to my ear and says, “One day, you learn I will do anything for you. For now, I’ll just have to keep showing you I will.”

A shiver runs down my spine. Between the thoughts that have plagued me all day and his words, a flush of arousal comes over me. Spinning around in his arms, he pulls me closer to him, and I can feel every hard plane of his body. He takes a deep inhale of air and his eyes darken. His finger trails down the side of my neck and over the swell of my breast.

“What is it you want, my rose?”What’s with the pet name? That’s new.

I gasp as I feel something else growing hard between us. He doesn’t know–he can’t know–that I’ve never been with anyone.

His hand rounds my breast until he comes to my nipple and my mouth falls open. He pinches it between his fingers and gently pulls. “Tell me you want this.” His voice is gravely and full of lust. “I can smell your slick, Aspen. I bet if I stuck my fingers down there, I would be drenched.”

My mouth is hanging open, with my breaths panting out of me.Goddess, I want that so much.His fingers graze my side as he travels down to do exactly what he just mentioned.How many times has he done this before? How many women have experienced this with him?While I have been home waiting for my mate to see me, he has been busy exploring other women.It’s like a bucket of ice water is dropped over my head. I push my hands against his chest, breaking out of his arms. His face is full of confusion.

“I am not ready for that, Warrick. I’m not one of those girls you bring home and fuck.” I turn to walk out the door before he can say anything else.

He follows quickly behind me. “Wait!” he yells out, as the door begins to close between us. He thrusts it open and reaches for my elbow. “Don’t run off, Aspen. What just happened?”

Whipping around, I glare at him. “What happened is you think I’m just like every other girl you have been with! All it takes is the right words, the right touches, and you will have me right where you want me. Isn’t that right?”

He looks confused and hurt. “What are you talking about?” he asks quietly.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t imagine you need me, of all people, to spell it out to you.” I know that I’m being irrational, but I can’t get out of my head that I’m just going to be one of many for him. While he will be my one and only.

He reaches out slowly to pull me into his arms again. “Aspen, I know you aren’t like the other girls. I’m sorry that I made you feel like I was treating you as though you were. If you don’t want to do this yet, we don’t have to. But I would like to walk you home, if that’s okay with you?”

I nod my head; I don’t want him to think that he is necessarily doing anything right now. It’s not as though he is currently making me feel this way. Years of whispered words, past times watching him with others, and my mind’s own conjuring, it’s all there. It’s his fault, but it’s also not his fault. He can’t control how I feel, but he can help me feel differently, at least now. I shouldn’t have snapped at him. The look on his face right now, he is hurting, thinking he did something wrong. It seems he isn’t the only one who has something to work on.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, I let him in on the thoughts running through my mind. Maybe now, he will understand where I’m coming from.

He nods his head once. “I understand. I’ll show you what you mean to me. That’s a promise.”

After locking the door to the store, we head off down the sidewalk toward our homes. We walk in silence together.

He doesn’t take off toward his house like he normally does each night; instead, he prompts me to head toward mine. We make it to my front door before he tugs on my arm to slow me down. Turning around, I find him looking nervous.

“Aspen, wait, before you go inside…”

“Yeah?”

“Uh, can I take you to dinner? It doesn’t have to be anything serious, but I want a chance to talk to you without the interruptions of pack life and work.”

Leaning in, I kiss his cheek before saying, “I would love that, Warrick. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” he says as he walks back off the porch.

Closing my door behind me, I lean my back against it. It scares me how quickly I’ve become used to him being in my daily life. I just hope that I don’t regret it later on. I send off a text message to Chase to see if he can call me. Maybe a talk with him will help settle all these feelings I’m having.

Chapter 13

Aisling

Waiting hours for her to stop talking to that mountain lion shifter, I finally am able to wrestle control from her and shift. With Aspen finally sleeping, she doesn’t know that I sneak out. We usually know what the other side is doing at any given time unless the one in control chooses for us to not know. Which is what I’m doing since I know our mate is outside, like he is every single night. But tonight, I want to know what he is doing.

Nudging the door open, I walk into our backyard to exactly where he sits every single night. The air is smothered in his scent, which means he has already done his rounds where he scent marks the entire outside of the house. How Aspen hasn’t noticed is beyond me.

“Why are you out here?”I ask Wraith.

“I am out here every single night. Unlike my human side, I want to claim my mate and make her ours,”his deep baritone whispers into my mind.